UCSB Political Scientist to Give Talk on President Obama’s Use of Executive Actions

Prominent critics who object to executive actions taken by President Barack Obama have characterized them as unlawful and unconstitutional.

In a talk on Thursday, John Woolley, professor of political science at UC Santa Barbara and an expert in presidential politics, will discuss Obama’s recent unilateral actions, focusing on their historical precedents and apparent legality.

His talk, “'I’ve Got a Pen and I’ve Got a Phone' ... Is President Obama Abusing His Authority?” will begin at 6 p.m. at Mosher Alumni House at UCSB.

It is free and open to the public.

Woolley, who is also co-founder and co-director of The American Presidency Project, an online archive that contains 104,791 documents related to the study of the presidency, is currently conducting research on change in the presidency over time, presidential use of unilateral action, and financial regulatory reform.

In addition, he continues to be involved in research on the politics of monetary policy, especially involving analysis of the transcripts of the meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee.

He has collaborated with other scholars on work addressing democracy and economic growth and California environmental policy.

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